BOISE ST: Boise State loses a ton of starters on both sides of the ball, but it should still be able to win the Mountain West this season. Boise has experience on its offensive line and a great running back to find holes in sixth-year RB D.J. Harper, who returns to take over for Doug Martin, who was picked in the first round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Harper has big shoes to fill, but he's at least a proven player (1,642 rush yds, 24 TD in career). The same cannot be said for QB Joe Southwick, who has sat behind the all-time winningest QB in NCAA history, Kellen Moore. Defensively, the Broncos are going to have a very good secondary with the return of corners Jerrell Gavins and Jamar Taylor, who were both hampered by injuries. The unproven front seven is a question mark, and the team has a slew of new assistant coaches under Chris Petersen, including both coordinators.

SOUTHERN MISS: Ellis Johnson has giant shoes to fill replacing former head coach Larry Fedora and the first thing he'll have to do is find a reliable quarterback. Whoever emerges between Chris Campbell and Ricky Lloyd will have the chance to play behind a strong offensive line that will start four seniors. Desmond Johnson (5.7 YPC) is the guy who looks to get the most touches at tailback this season with the versatile Jeremy Hester also getting some carries. The strength of the Golden Eagles could be their wide receiving corps that includes the speedy and undersized Tracy Lampley (1,037 total yards, 7 total TD) and 6-foot-4 converted TE Markese Triplett. Former Memphis head man Tommy West takes over as defensive coordinator and has some talent on the defensive line and secondary. Southern Miss will have to rely on green players at the linebacker positions to round out a defense that could be strong again (20.8 PPG, 26th in nation) if recruits and transfers are ready to contribute.